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COMMERCE  AND  NAVIGATION 


V 


OF  THK 


VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI; 

AND  ALSO  THAT  APPERTAINING  TO 

THE  CITY  OF  ST.  LOUIS: 

CONSIDERED, 

With  reference  to  the   improvement,  by  the  Geneial  Government,  of  .'^ 
the  Mississippi  B-iver  and  its  principal  tributaries;  being 


^J 


A    REPORT, 


Prepared  by  authority  of  the  Delegates    from  the    City  at  St.  Louis,    '-, 

for  the  use  of  the 

CHICAGO   CONVENTION   OF  JULY  5,  1847.  ; 


ST.    LOUIS,   MO. 
Printed   by   Chambers   &   Enapp. 


f.'-'  >l 


.•  • 


( I 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


.••* 


THE 


COMMERCE  AND  NAVIGATION 


OF   THZ 


VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI; 


AND    ALSO    THAT    AFFERTAININO    TO 


THE  CITY  OF  ST.  LOUIS: 


With  reference  io  the  improvement,  by  the  General  Government,  of  the 
Mississippi  River  and  its  principal  tributaries;  being 

A    REPORT, 

PBEPARED     by"   AUTHORITY     OF     THE     DELEGATES    FBOM    THE    CITY   OF 
ST.    LOUIS,    FOR    THE    USE    OF    THE 

CHICAGO    CONVENTION  OF   JULY   5,    1847. 


ST.    LOUIS,    MO. 

PRINTED   BT   CHAMBEKI    Si  KNAPP. 


3  ■•  .. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Delegates  to  the  Chicago  Convention,  (selected  pnrsuant  to 
a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis,  at  the  Rotunda,  on  Saturday,  May  the  29th, 
JS47,)  held  at  the  Planter's  House,  on  Monday  evening,  the  8lh  of  June,  F.  M. 
Haight,  Esq., in  the  Chair: 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  report  on  the 
improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  principal  tributaries, 
the  St.  Louis  Harbor  and  Marine  Hospitals,  and  submit  the  same  to  the  delega- 
tion, at  a  meeting  to  be  held  at  the  Planter's  House  on  the  evening  of  the  19th  inst., 
viz : 

Thomas  Allen,  A.  B.  Chambers, 

Samuel  Treat,  George  K.  McGunnegle, 

N.  J.  Eaton,  James  E.  Yeatman, 

Wilson  Phimm. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Delegates,  held  at  the  Planters  House  on  Satur- 
day evening,  the  19th  June,  Archibald  Gamble,  Esq.,  presiding.  Thomas 
Allen,  Esq.,  from  the  Committee  to  prepare  the  report,  submitted  the  following, 
which,  having  been  read  and  carefully  considered,  was  unanimously  approved, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Convention. 

A.  B.  CHAMBERS,  Secretary. 


>H'> 


EPORT. 


■^"VN.-^.-v.^.'S 


The  people  of  the  City  of  St.  Louis,  hail  with  satisfaction,  the  assem- 
blage of  a  general  convention,  with  reference  to  the  great  interests  of 
interior  commerce  and  navigation.  From  such  commerce  and  navigation 
St.  Louis  derives  its  origin,  its  increase,  and  its  future  hopes  of  great- 
ness. In  such  it  has  lived,  flourished  and  suffered,  until  experience 
has  given  it  full  knowledge  of  their  nature,  and  a  clear  apprehension  of 
their   capacities,  their  deficiencies,  and  their  relations. 

The  people  of  St.  Louis  are  an  integral  portion  of  the  great  Republi- 
can family  of  the  United  States,  and  while  they  hold  themselves  ever 
ready  to  discharge  the  duties  devolving  upon  them,  as  members  of  the 
Union,  yet  they  claim  their  proportion  of  its  advantages.  Their  geo- 
graphical position,  is  that  of  the  heart  of  the  great  central  valley  of  the 
North  American  Continent.  A  valley,  extending  through  21idegrees 
of  latitude,  and  15  degrees  of  longitude,  embracing  every  variety  of 
climate  and  soil,  production  and  pursuit:  a  valley,  just  beginning  to  smile 
in  its  redemption  from  a  state  of  nature,  yet  inviting  to  its  ample  bosom 
the  outpourings  of  every  over-crowded  community  of  the  world,  and 
offering  to  return  to  the  hand  of  improvement,  supplies  for  unnumbered 
millions  of  the  human  race.  Nature  has,  in  a  remarkable  degree, 
endowed  the  soil  with  vegetable  fertility  and  mineral  riches;  exhibited  a 
surface  adapted  to  every  taste  and  want,  and  cut  it  with  peculiar  streams 
susceptible  of  application  to  various  species  of  industry,  and  to  the 
uses  of  a  magnificent  commerce,  holding  in  one  embrace,  the  produc- 
tions of  the  northern  and  southern  limits  of  the  temperate  zone. 

This  vast  area,  this  fat  and  fertile  valley,  comprehended  between  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi  on  the  north,  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the 
south,  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west,  and  the  Alleghanies  on  the  east, 
though  but  recently  a  wilderness,  already  embraces'  eleven  entire  states, 
and  parts  of  two  others,  and  two  territories;  and  is  busy  with  the  in- 
dustry, and  burdened  with  the  immediate  support  and  all  the  earthly 


p  34.364 


interests  of  half  the  population  of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 
Comprising  within  its  limits,  1,200,000  square  miles,  or  768,000,000  of 
acres,  its  importance  can  no  more  be  calculated  tlian  that  ol  the  Union 
itself.  Its  influence  must  be  co-extensive  with  the  habitable  globe,  of 
which  it  will  be  the  Garden  and  the  Granary;  going  beyond  the  United 
States,  of  which  it  must  become  the  seat  of  Empire,  the  source  of  vitality, 
the  diadem  of  pride,  the  base  of  their  pyramid  of  grandeur.  The  Creator 
of  the  universe  has  no  where  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  spread  more 
lavishly  the  means  ofhuman  prosperity,  or  stamped  more  legibly  the  lin- 
eaments of  beautiful  and  convenient  adaptation  to  the  wants  and  necessities 
of  mankind.  Visit  it  not  with  the  evils  of  bad  government;  obstruct  not 
the  hand  of  improvement  within  it  ;  stay  not  the  tide  of  population 
pouring  in  upon  its  bosom;  and  let  its  broad  acres  receive  that  propor- 
tion of  population  which  vexes  the  soil  of  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,* 
and  the  Bountiful  Giver  of  tliis  great  and  good  gift,  will  smile  from 
Heaven  upon  a  happy  family  ol"  more  than  275  millions  of  liuman  be- 
ings. Indeed,  looking  forward  for  60  years,  for  an  increase  of  popula- 
tion keeping  pace  with  the  ratio  of  the  past  60  years,  (that  is,  doubling 
every  10  years,)  the  world  would  behold  in  the  year  1907,  (60  years 
hence)  swarming  in  this  valley,  more  than  640  millions  of  inhabitants. 
This  astonishing  result,  has  for  its  demonstration,  the  past  statistical 
history  of  the  country,  though  it  would  seem  scarcely  possible  that  the 
past  ratio  of  increase  can  be  maintained.  At  the  iirst  census  (1790) 
the  population  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  did  not  exceed  200,000. 
In  1800,  it  had  increased  to  about  560,000;  in  1810,  to  1,370,000;  in 
1820,  to  2,580,000;  in  1830,  to  4,190,000;  in  1840,  to  6,370,000;  and 
in  1847,  according  to  the  preceding  average  ratio  of  increase,  it  exceeds 
10,520,000.  In  the  year  1850,  according  to  such  ratio,  it  will  exceed 
12  millions,  and  be  about  equal  to  the  population  of  all  the  Atlantic  states. 
The  history  of  Missouri  alone,  however,  exhibits  a  still  more  extra- 
ordinary increase.  In  1771,  the  population  was  743;f  in  1799,  it  was 
6,005;  in  1810,  it  was  20,845;  in  1820,  it  was  66,586;  in  1830,  it  was 
140,455;  in  1840,  it  was  383,702;  and  according  to  the  same  ratio  of 
increase,  (173  per  cent  decennially,)  it  is  in  1847,  825,074,  being  an  in- 
crease of  over  16  per  cent  per  annum.  But  while  the  decennial  in- 
crease of  Missouri,  was  173  per  cent,  that  of  Illinois  was  202,  Missis- 
sippi 175,  Michigan  555,  and  Arkansas  221  per  cent. 


•  Tho  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  rontaiiu  116,709  square  miles,  74,688,000  acres,  and  a  popu- 
lation of  .27.830. 105. 
t  Hutchin«. 


The  commerce  and  agriculture  of  this  Valley  exhibit  a  growth  as 
surprising  as  that  of  its  population. 

The  first  schooner  of  the  Northern  Lakes,  "  the  Griffin,"  in  1679, 
was.freighted  with  the  first  combination  of  commercial  enterprise  and 
settlement  that  reached  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Thus  the  riv- 
ers of  the  Valley  owe  to  the  great  Lakes,  the  introduction  of  commerce 
and  population. 

From  that  period  up  to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  in  1803,  and  even 
later,  the  fur  trade  of  the  French  immigrants  with  the  Indians  constitu- 
ted a  leading  pursuit  of  the  inhabitants,  especially  of  the  upper  half  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  These  immense  rivers  and  lakes  were 
navigated  from  Quebec,  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  the  Yellow  Stone,  on  the 
Missouri,  by  bark  canoes,  and  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  connecting 
the  Lakes  with  the  Mississippi,  were  a  chief  thoroughfare  of  the  trade. 

Next  to  the  canoe  came  the  Mackinaw  boat,  carrying  1500  weight 
to  3  tons,  and  then  the  keel  boat  or  barge  of  SO  to  40  tons.  The  first 
appearance  of  the  keel  boat,  in  the  Mississippi,  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  of  which  we  have  any  account,  was  in  1751,  when  a  fleet  of  boats, 
commanded  by  Bossu,  a  Captain  of  French  Marines,  ascended  as  far  as 
Fort  Chartres.  This  enterprise  also,  was  the  first  to  ascertain,  by  expe- 
rience, something  of  the  nature  of  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 
One  of  the  boats,  "  the  St.  Louis,"  struck  a  sand  bar  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio,  was  unladen  and  detained  two  days.  Three  days  after, 
says  the  traveler,  "  my  boat  ran  against  a  tree,  of  which  the  Mississip- 
pi is  full;"*  "the  shock  burst  the  boat,  and  such  a  quantity  of  water  got 
in  that  it  sunk  in  less  than  an  hour's  time."  This  was  probably 
the  first  boat  snagged  on  the  Mississippi.  From  three  to  four  months 
was  the  time  consumed  at  this  period,  and  for  many  years  afterward  in 
a  voyage  from  New  Orleans  to  the  settlements  in  the  vicinity  of  St. 
Louis  ;  a  voyage  occupying  a  steamboat  in  1819  twenty-seven  days  !  but 
which  of  late  has  been  accomplished  in  less  than  four  days ! 

The  annual  average  value  of  the  fur  trade  of  upper  Louisiana  for 
fifteen  successive  years  ending  in  1804  amounted  to  $203,750.  That 
part  of  the  province  also  exported  some  lead,  salt,  beef  and  pork — the 
Indian  goods  coming  from  Canada,  those  for  domestic  consumption  from 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore ;  groceries  from  New  Orleans,  and  hardware 

*  "  By  tMs  accident,  I  lost  all  I  had ;  I  ran  the  risk  of  perishing  too;  for  I  had  thrown  myself 
in  a  pirogue,  but  it  was  so  full  of  goods  saved  from  the  wreck  that  it  overset;  several  soldiers  were 
drowned,  and  I  should  have  shared  the  same  late  had  it  not  been  for  a  generous  Akanza,  who,  not 
fearing  the  severity  of  the  season,  leaped  into  the  water  and  seized  me  by  my  riding  coat. — 
[Bossu,  vol.  I  ,f>.  114, 


in  small  boats  from  the  Ohio  river.  The  annual  exports  from  the  lower 
-y  part  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  for  the  year  1802,  amounted  to  about 
$2,1G0,000,  and  the  imports  to  about  $2,500,000;  the  exports  consist- 
ing of  sugar,  cotton,  rice,  indigo,  furs  and  peltries,  lead,  lumber,  caitle, 
horses,  beef  and  pork,  tar  and  pitch.  For  the  year  1846,  the  receipts 
at  New  Orleans  from  the  upper  country,  amounted  to  J;>j77, 193,464. 

At  the  period  of  the  introduction  of  steam  upon  the  Mississippi, 
1817,  the  whole  commerce  from  New  Orleans  to  the  upper  country',  was 
transported  in  about  twenty  barges  of  an  average  of  100  tons  each,  and 
making  but  one  trip  in  a  year.  The  number  of  keel  boats  on  the  Ohio 
was  estimated  at  160,  carrying  thirty  tons  each.  The  total  tonnage  was 
estimated  at  between  6.000  and  7,000. 

In  1834,  the  number  of  steamboats  on  the  Mississippi  and  its  tribu- 
taries was  230,  and  their  tonnage  equal  to  about  39,000. 
In  1840,  the  number  was  285,  with  a  tonnage  of  49,800. 
In  1842,  the  number  was  450,  and,  estimating  their  burden  at  an  av- 
erage of  200  tons  each,  their  tonnage  was  90,000. 

In  1843,  the  number  Avas  estimated  at  672  ;  tonnage,  134,400. 
In  addition  to  the  steamboats,  there  are  estimated  to  be  employed  on 
the  same  rivers,  about  4,000  keel  and  flat  boats. 

For  the  year  1844,  the  enrolled  and  licensed  steamboat  tonnage  of  the 
western  rivers  was  reported  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at  144,150, 
which,  at  an  average  of  210  tons*  for  each  boat,  gives  686  steamboats 
for  that  year. 

By  a  subsequent  report  from  the  same  source,  the  tonnage  had  in- 
creased by  the  last  of  June,  1845,  to  159,713,  making  the  number  of 
boats  789. 

A  report  from  the  same  authority,  for  1846,  exhibits  the  steamboat 
tonnage  enrolled  and  licensed  at  the  several  districts  named  below,  as 
follows : 

New  Orleans,  .... 

St.  Louis, 

Pittsburgh, 

Cincinnati,  .         .         .         . 

Louisvillo, 

Nasljville, 

Wheeling, 

Total, 


180,504 

.81 

22.425 

.92 

17,162 

.94 

15,312 

.86 

8.172 

.26 

2,809 

.23 

2,666 

.76 

249.054 

.77  tons. 

•  Wc  h«vc  ndopted  this  nrcrapc  from  the  experience  of  .St  Louis  for  lf4fi.  Tliere  were 
2S1  »te«niho«t«  engaged  in  the  trade  of  St  Louii  that  year,  vritli  an  apercgntc  tonnage  of 
53,?67,  or  210  lonf  to  each  boat. 


Applying  the  average  above  adopted  to  this  tonnage,  the  number  of 
steamboats  upon  the  western  rivers  in  1846,  is  demonstrated  to  have 
been  1,190.  Regarding  the  value  per  ton  to  be  $65,  which  is  lower 
than  has  heretofore  been  estimated,  and  we  have  as  the  aggregate  value 
of  these  boats,  the  sum  of  $16,188,561.  Supposing  them  to  run  220 
days  in  the  year,  at  the  cost  of  $125  per  day  for  each  boat,  and  the  an- 
nual expense  of  running  1,190  boats  appears  to  be  $32,725,C00.  Esti- 
mating the  average  number  of  persons  employed  on  each  boat  at  35, 
gives  a  total  of  41,650  persons  actually  employed  upon  the  steamboats 
of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  To  this  we  may  add  the  estimated 
number  of  4000  keel  and  flat  boats,  embracing  in  their  employment 
20,000  souls,  and  costing  to  build  and  navigate  them,  $1,380,000. 

We  are  now  enabled  to  form  a  table,  showing  the  cost  of  river  trans- 
portation in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi : 

Cost  of  running  1,190  steamboats,  -        .        -        $32,725,000 

Insurance  on  $16,188,561,  at  12  per  cent.,  -  -  1,942,627 
Interest  on  $16,188,561,  at  6  per  cent.,  -  -  -  971,313 
Wear  and  tear  of  boats.  24  per  cent.,        -        .        -  3,885,254 

Tolls  on  the  Louisville  and  Portland  Canal,  -  -  250,000 
Cost  of  flat  boats,  (included  because  sacrificed  at  N.  0.)      1,380,000 


Totsrt  cost  of  transportation,  annually,  -  -  $41,154,1 94* 
It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  number  of  persons  among  whom,  for 
wages,  wood,  coal,  boat  stores,  provisions,  &c.,  this  almost  'incredible 
sum  of  forty-one  millions  of  dollars  is  annually  distributed.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  more  or  less  of  it  reaches  every  family  and  every  cabin,  situa- 
ted upon  a  double  coast  of  river  navigation,  extending  over  15,000 
miles ;  while,  as  a  tax,  it  falls,  not  insensibly,  upon  every  producer  and 
consumer  in  the  entire  valley.  It  aifects  the  producer,  because  the 
cost  of  getting  his  crops  to  market  lessens  the  profit  he  is  enabled  to  re- 
alize, and  the  same  impediments  to  the  returns  increases  the  cost  of  the 
necessaries  he  purchases  for  consumption.  This  great  cost  is  a  tax  up- 
on the  surplus  produce,  enterprize,  industry  and  trade  of  the  country. 

The  commerce  of  a  country  that  can  flourish  under  such  a  burden  of 
taxation  must  evidently  be  very  large.     Tlie  extent  of  it  is  such,  in- 

*  The  cost  of  running  a  steamboat  on  tlie  western  rivers  is  six  times  greater  than  the  c«st  in- 
curred upon  the  lakes.  For  proof  of  this :  The  capital  invested  in  the  vessels  of  the  Upper  Lakes 
is  estimated  at  $6,000,000,  and  the  cost  of  running  them  (exclusive  of  insurance  and  interest  on 
the  capital,)  is  stated  to  he  about  $1,750,000.  or  about  one-third  of  their  value.  The  capital  in- 
vested in  the  steamboats  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  is  $16,188,561,  and  the  cost  of  running 
them  (exclusive  of  insurance  and  interest)  is  estimated  at  $32,725,000,  or  more  than  double  their 
value. 


8 

deed,  as  is  not  generally  apprehended.  In  fact,  in  estimating  it  from  the 
surest  data,  the  results  to  which  our  figures  carry  us  almost  stagger  our 
own  belief.     Yet  our  conclusions  cannot  be  avoided. 

We  have  1,190  steamboats,  carrying  249,054  tons.  On  the  supposi- 
tion that,  upon  an  average,  each  boat  makes  20  trips  (40  voyages)  a 
year,  the  whole  are  capable  of  carrying  annually  9,962, 160  tons.  Ad- 
ding to  this  the  freights  of  4,000  flat  boats,  carrying  an  average  of  75 
tons  each,  making  300,000  tons  more,  we  have  an  aggregate  annual  ton- 
nage of  10,252,160.  It  may  be  insisted  that  the  boats  do  not  always  carry- 
full  freights  ;  they  evidently  carry  enough  to  make  their  business  an  ac- 
tive and  profitable  one,  while  the  amount  they  discharge  at  New  Orleans 
alone  requires  the  services  of  2,085  vessels,  to  export  from  that  city  the 
surplus  beyond  its  own  consumption.*  The  value  of  western  products 
received  at  New  Orleans  from  the  interior  for  the  last  5  years,  including 
the  present,  is  as  follows  : 

1842-43, $53,728,054 

1843-44, 60,094,716 

1844-45, 57,199,122 

1845-46,  77,193,464 

1846-47,  (estimated,)    -        -        -        -        84,912,810 

Showing  an  annual  average  increase  of  over  10  per  cent. 

An  equal  amount,  it  is  supposed,  finds  its  way  to  the  Atlantic  cities 
through  Pittsburgh  and  the  lakes  and  canals  of  the  interior. f 

There  is  to  be  added  to  these  sums  the  shipments  from  one  port  to 
another  of  the  west,  for  home  consumption,  of  the  products  of  our  man- 
ufactories, and  other  results  of  skilly  industry  and  capital.  An  intelligent 
committee  at  Cincinnati,  in  1844,  estimated  the  whole  of  this  interchange 
of  cominodities  at  an  aggregate  of  seventy  millions  of  dollars.  Estima- 
ting its  annual  increase  at  10  per  cent.,  it  is  now  equal  to  $93,000,000. 

Thus  we  have  of  the  domestic  products  of  the  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi  annually  put  afloat  upon  its  waters,  a  total  of  $262,825,620. 

The  returns,  or  imports  of  specie,  bullion  and  goods,  from  the  Atlan- 

*  Exports  of  New  Orleans,  foreign  nnd  coastwise,  1845 $47,361,310  .84 

184C 57,499,407   06 

Increase  in  1846 10,138.096  .24 

tThis  i»  not  an  unwarranted  supposition.  The  exports  of  a  few  of  the  principal  towns  on  tho 
Lakes  in  184(i,  were  as  follows : 

Cleveland.  Ohio, ; 7,040,402 

Erie.  Pa 1.073.246 

Mirhiaan.  from  all  ports 4,647,608 

Chicnco,  for  the  ycnr  1845 1,500.000 

Hcceipta  by  Canals  and  Railroads,  at  Toledo,  O.,.. 3,519,067 
At  Bu9alo,    1646,    Hour,    bbls..     1,21)1,233  At  New  Orleans,  1846,  flour,  bbls.,  837,965 

At  Buftalo,  bushels  wheat 3,613..569  At  New  Orleans,  bbls.  and  eks.  wheat,  403i786 

Al  BuSalo,  Ibi   bacon 0,220,673  At  New  Orleans,  lbs.  bacon  492  700 

(See  alto  "  ExporU  of  Pituburgb,  1847,"  at  end  of  Report)      


9 

tic  states  and  foreign  countries,  by  all  routes,  are  estimated  as  equiva- 
lent to  the  value  of  our  exports  of  domestic  produce.  Then  we  have 
as  the  grand  aggregate  value  of  the  commerce  annually  afloat  upon  the 
navigable  waters  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  the  sum  of  $432,- 
651,240,  being  nearly  double  the  amount  of  the  whole  foreign  com- 
merce of  the  United  States.J 

To  such  an  extent  has  tne  commerce  of  this  Valley  grown,  while 
yet  in  its  infancy.  Who  can  comprehend  its  magnitude  when  the  banks 
of  our  streams  shall  be  populated  to  the  density  of  the  Old  World,  and 
the  resources  of  the  country  shall  be  fully  developed  ? 

Transit  and  intercourse  are  greatly  facilitated  throughout  the  entire 
valley  by  navigable  streams  of  unequalled  abundance  and  extent.  They 
afford  a  continuous  navigation,  variously  computed  at  from  10,000  to 
15,000  miles,  oflFering  with  their  two  banks,  a  coast  for  landing  and  ship- 
ments, of  double  the  distance,  whatever  that  may  be.  The  character  of 
these  rivers  has  been  often  described,  and  is  well  known.  None  are 
more  rapid  and  dangerous  than  the  Mississippi  and  the  Missouri,  ob- 
structed as  they  often  are,  not  only  by  sandbars  and  occasional  rocks, 
but  by  timbers  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  presented  in  every  variety  of 
position.  The  most  dangerous  are  concealed  logs  and  stumps  and  sharp 
pointed  snags,  or  trees  firmly  planted  in  the  bed  of  the  river  at  one  end, 
while  the  other  is  just  near  enough  to  the  surface  to  be  concealed  from 
the  pilot's  view,  and  at  the  same  time  at  a  depth  well  suited  to  bring  it 
into  fatal  collision  with  any  boat  that  attempts  to  pass  over.  These 
dangers  seen  and  unseen  render  night  navigation  terrific  and  fre- 
quently impracticable,  excepting  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  in  the 
lower  Mississippi,  where,  since  the  employment  of  snag  boats,  night 
navigation  has  been  practiced.  These  obstructions  are  the  heaviest 
drawbacks  upon  the  commerce  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  inflicting  annu- 
ally, not  only  an  extensive  destruction  of  boats  and  cargoes,  but  a 
frightful  loss  of  human  life.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  care  is  taken 
by  the  goveriunent  to  collect  and  preserve  accurate  statistical  informa- 
tion in  reference  to  these  losses.  We  are  obliged  to  gather  together 
such  items  as  float  within  our  reach,  and  can  only  make  an  approxima- 
tion to  the  actual  truth  of  the  case. 

From  1822  to  1827,  the  loss  of  property  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 

t  Imports  of  the  United  States  for  1845-6 $121,691,797 

Exports  of  "  1845-6 113,488,516 

Total $335,1§0,313 

2 


10 

by  snags  alone,  including  steam  and  flat  boats,  and  their  cargoes,  amount- 
ed to  $1,362,500. 

The  losses  on  the  same  from  1827  to  1832,  were  reduced  to  $381,000, 
in  consequence  of  the  beneficial  service  of  s^everal  boats  employed  by 
the  Federal  Government  in  removing  snags.  In  the  year  1830,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  successful  operation  of  the  snag  boats,  not  a  single 
steamboat  was  lost  by  snags. 

From  1833  to  1838  inclusive,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  report- 
ed forty  steamboats  snagged  on  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries — a 
number  evidently  much  below  the  truth,  and  valued  at  $640,000, 

In  1839,  the  total  loss  of  boats  reported  was  forty — of  which  twenty- 
one  were  snagged,  and  seven  struck  upon  rocks  and  other  obstructions. 
Value  of  twenty-eight  snagged,  &c.,  $448,000. 

In  1840,  the  total  number  snagged  was  twenty-one — value,  $336,000. 
In  1841,  whole  number  reported  sunk  forty-nine — snagged,  twenty- 
nine— value  $464,000. 

In  1842,  the  whole  number  reported  lost  was  sixty-eight.  The  number 
snagged  is  not  ascertained.  In  the  space  of  about  one  month  succeeding 
the  11th  of  September  of  that  year,  the  losses  on  the  Mississippi  be- 
tween St.  Louis  and  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  a  distance  of  only  180  miles, 
were  $234,000,  principally  by  snags.  Within  the  next  succeedinT 
seventeen  months,  there  were  seventy-two  steam  boats  lost,  valued  at 
$1,200,000,  besides  their  valuable  cargoes. 

In  1846,  the  whole  number  sunk  or  destroyed  was  thirty-six, 
with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  7,507.  Of  this  number,  twenty-four 
were  sunk  by  snags,  sunken  logs,  or  rocks,  and  valued  at  $697,500. 
To  this  sum,  is  to  be  added  $36,487  as  the  estimated  expense  of 
repairing  sixty-six  steamboats,  partially  injured  in  that  year,  and 
of  fourteen  flat  and  keel  boats  lost  or  injured ;  the  value  of  eio^ht 
of  them  snagged.  And  when  we  take  into  the  account  the  damage 
to  cargoes  saved,  the  expense  of  the  labor  of  saving  property  endan- 
gered, the  value  of  the  time  of  persons  thrown  out  of  employment 
the  losses  by  delays  to  the  shippers  and  consignees,  the  aggregate 
actual  loss  cannot  be  less  than  one  million  of  dollars  for  1846. 

The  facts  connected  with  insurance,  however,  indicate  a  much  heav- 
ier annual  loss.  Many  of  the  Insurance  Companies  decline  insuring 
the  hulls  of  boats,  and  risks  are  taken  only  on  the  best,  and  at  rates 
varying  from  12  to  1.5  per  cent.  And  if  it  be  true,  as  is  stated,  that 
the  insurers  lose  money  at  even  those  rates,  then  the  lowest  rate  of 


11 

insurance  on  hulls  indicates  a  loss  of  $1,920,000  annually  on  the  esti- 
mated investment  of  sixteen  millions  in  the  boats.  On  the  estimated 
amount  of  commerce  of  the  river,  it  would  indicate  an  annual  loss,  if  it 
were  all  insured,  of  $51,918,148. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  there  are  lying  within  the  space  of  the 
200  miles  between  the  mouths  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Missouri  rivers,  the 
wrecks  of  over  ninety  steamboats. 

Taking  the  losses  of  the  steamboats  trading  at  St.  Louis  for  the  years 
l841-'2  for  his  data,  Mr.  Calkoun  has  estimated§  "  the  annual  ag- 
gregate loss  of  boats  navigating  the  Mississippi  and  its  waters  at  the 
present  time  [1846]  (estimating  the  number  at  900,)  to  be  107^  from 
all  causes  ;  of  which  57  v/ould  be  from  snags,  and  75  from  snags,  rocks 
and  logs,"  and  makes  the  aggregate  annual  loss  from  snags,  rocks  and 
logs,  (obstructions  susceptible  of  being  removed,)  $1,820,200. 

There  are  other  obstructions  to  the  free  navigation  of  these  national 
highways,  which  increase  the  losses  endured.  We  allude  to  the  inju- 
ries and  detentions  by  sandbars,  by  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  the  cost  of  tolls 
at  the  Louisville  and  Portland  Canal,  and  the  delays  and  dangers  of  the 
two  Rapids  of  the  Upper  Mississippi.  Taking  all  into  the  account,  it 
cannot  be  too  liigh  an  estimate  to  put  down  the  actual  losses  of  the  country, 
from  removable  obstructions  in  the  national  highways,  at  two  millions 
of  dollars  per  annum.  This  is  annihilated — 'So  much  destroyed,  of  Ihe 
wealth  of  the  country — amounting  every  ten  years,  to  a  sum  equal  to  the 
purchase  money  paid  by  the  government  for  all  Louisiana. 

And  who  shall  put  an  estimate  upon  the  value  of  the  souls  destroyed 
by  the  same  causes?  And  who  shall  gather  the  tears  of  the  widow 
and  the  orphan ;  the  bloody  sweat  of  anguished  families,  and  the 
griefs  for  loved  ones  lost,  fortunes  broken,  and  hopes  destroyed,  and 
weigh  them  in  the  scale,  with  a  pitiful  appropriation  of  money?  Un- 
happily, again,  no  tally  is  kept ;  but  taking  the  losses  of  life  attending  the 
disasters  of  the  St.  Louis  boats,  in  1841-2,  as  a  basis,  the  present  num- 
ber of  lives  annually  destroyed,  in  consequence  of  these  destructions, 
may  be  estimated  at  166.  Oftentimes,  go  down  among  them,  characters 
distinguished  for  industry  and  virtue,  carrying  with  them  their  families 
and  fortunes,  in  money,  sufficient  if  properly  applied,  to  remove  every 
snag  from  the  channel. 

Shall  this  frightful  destruction  of  human  life  and  property,  go  on,  and 
increase  with  the  business  and  population  of  this  valley  ?     Is  there  no 

§U.  9.  Senate's  Doc.  No.  410  29tli  Congress,  Ist  Seasion, 


12 

merciful  device,  no  arm  of  power  to  save  us  from  these  disasters  in  our 
river  navigation? 

Whenever  a  city,  county  or  state,  lays  out  a  street  or  road,  and  dedi- 
cates it  to  public  uses,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  that  city,  county  or  state, 
to  provide  the  means  of  removing  obstacles  from  that  highway.  And 
it  is  well  known  that  damages  are  often  recovered  against  municipal  au- 
thorities, for  injuries  received  by  individuals  from  obstructions  in  the 
roads.  The  government  of  the  United  States,  by  the  ordinance  of  1787, 
declared  thai  "the  navigable  waters  leading  into  the  Mississippi  and  St. 
Lawrence,  and  the  carrying  places  between  the  same,  shall  be  common 
highways,  and  forever  free,  as  well  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  territory 
as  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  those  of  any  other 
state  that  may  be  admitted  into  the  confederacy,  without  any  tax,  duty 
or  impost  therefor."  And  as  to  the  Mississippi  itself,  the  Congress  of 
1788,  to  pacify  the  apprehensions  of'  North  Carolina,  as  to  yielding  the 
navigation  of  the  river,  in  the  Spanisli  controversy,  resolved  that  they 
had  no  intention  of  giving  it  up,  and  further  they  ^'Resolved,  that  the 
free  navigation  of  the  river  Mississippi,  is  a  clear  and  essential  right  of 
theUnited  States."  ||  The  government,  therefore,  in  that  compact,  assumed 
the  same  jurisdiction,  and  the  same  obligation  to  keep  open  those  high- 
ways, that  a  county  or  state  does,  in  reference  to  its  public  roads. 
They  are  not  the  property  of  any  state,  or  of  the  citizens  of  any  state ; 
but  tlie  common  properly  of  the  whole  nation.  And  a  single  state  is 
under  no  more  obligation  to  improve  those  highways  for  the  benefit  of 
the  rest,  than  a  single  individual  is,  to  improve  a  road  for  the  benefit  of 
the  public,  because  it  happens  to  run  through  or  alongside  of  his  farm. 
Nor,  if  a  river,  declared  a  public  highway,  separates  two  states,  one 
state  could  not  improve  it  if  it  would,  without  the  consent  of  the  other; 
and  the  other  might  be  of  a  different  opinion,  and  if  it  happened  to 
entertain  the  same  view  of  the  improvement  that  its  neighbor  did,  yet 
the  government  expressly  prohibits  their  agreeinglF  together  and,  form- 
ing a  compact,  for  accomplishing  the  object  both  might  greatly  desire,  in 
reference  to  the  improvement  of  the  river,  or  any  other  object.  It  is, 
therefore,  wholly  impracticable,  and  out  of  the  power  of  the  states,  to 
improve  these  "navigable  waters,  leading  into  the  Mississippi."  The 
power,  the  means  and  the  duty,  are  in  the  Federal  Government. 

They  hold  the  public  lands  as  a  common  fund  for  the  benefit  of  all 
the  States.    These  lands  now  comprise   in  the  territories  west  of  the 

II  Madison  Papors,  p.  678 

fl  See  Sec.  10,  Art  1   Con.  U,  S. 


13 

Mississippi,  over  nine  hundred  millions  of  acres,  and  within  the  States 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  including  only^  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mis- 
souri, Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  they  hold 
unsold  the  number  of  about  two  hundred  millions  of  acres.  Within  the 
same  States  the  Government  have  sold  about  seventy  millions  of  acres, 
for  which  the  public  treasury  has  derived  from  our  people  between 
eighty  and  ninety  millions  of  dollars.  The  improvement  of  the  naviga- 
ble rivers  which  drain  these  lands  surely  accelerate  their  sale  and 
settlement,  and  enhance  their  value.  Besides,  probably  the  whole  an- 
nual product,  in  money,  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  is  transported 
on  the  rivers  of  this  valley.  The  following  is  an  estimate,  made  two 
years  ago,  of  the  value  of  government  property  at  risk,  annually,  on 
these  waters : 

Connected  with  Indian  Affairs,       -        -        $960,858 
«  «      Military  Arrangements,         1,834,000 

Proceeds  of  the  Public  Lands,        -        -        2,000,000 


$4,794,858 
This  is  probably  not  one-third  of  the  amount  which  has  been  at  risk 
the  past  year.  But,  taking  the  lowest  rate  at  which  steamboat  hulls  are 
insured,  viz  :  12  per  cent.,  and  we  have  the  amount  of  government  prop- 
erty annually  afloat  on  these  waters  subjected  to  a  loss,  as  indicated  by 
the  rate  of  insurance,  of  $575,382  .96,  a  sum  sufficient  to  keep  more 
than  twenty  snag  boats  in  operation  a  year.  The  General  Government  lost 
$40,000  of  public  stores  and  property,  on  their  way  to  the  army,  in  1846, 
by  the  snagging  of  the  steamboats  "Ohio,"  "Radnor"  and  "Toneleuka." 
The  whole  army  of  the  north,  which  has  conquered  the  northern  prov- 
inces of  Mexico  in  the  present  war,  were  transported,  as  well  as  their 
pay  and  supplies,  over  500  miles  of  the  steamboat  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
souri river.  That  river  is  the  channel  of  intercourse  and  correspon- 
dence, not  only  with  that  army,  but  with  all  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
west,  as  well  as  the  new  colonies  of  our  citizens  which  are  growing  up 
in  Oregon  and  California.  The  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  have  been  essen- 
tially necessary  to  the  government  in  transporting,  during  the  present 
war,  thousands  of  troops,  and  quantities  of  ammunition,  arms,  army 
supplies  and  money,  for  the  "  common  defence"  in  Mexico,  while  the 
U.  S.  Mail  is  annually  transported  in  this  valley  over  737,801  miles,* 
by  rail  roads  and  steamboats,  (the  rail  roads  being  few,  taking  but  a 
small  portion.)    And  when  we  consider  further  that  every  steamboat 


*  Report  of  Post  Master  General,  1843. 


14 

has  its  crowd  of  passengers,  representing  every  State,  and  perhaps  con- 
nected with  every  county,  in  the  Union,  and  that  they  go  freighted  with 
the  produce  of  the  west,  and  return  with  the  manufactures  of  the  east, 
who  can  say,  with  the  least  propriety,  that  the  interests  of  the  govern- 
ment and  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  not  in- 
volved in  the  commerce  and  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its 
tributaries.! 

Moreover,  these  navigable  rivers  are  again  made  national  highways 
by  the  Constitution  itself,  in  declaring  that  "vessels  bound  to  or  from 
one  State,  shall  not  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear  or  pay  duties  in  another." 
This  brings  the  commerce  of  the  Missouri  as  fully  within  the  regulating 
power  of  Congress  as  that  of  the  Mississippi  or  of  the  sea  coast.  Nor 
is  it  permitted  to  any  State  to  impose  duties  on  tonnage.  All  these  rights 
are  delegated  to  the  Federal  Government.  And  can  it  be  possible  that 
the  States  have  given  up  all  these  means  of  improving  their  navigable 
waters,  without  imposing  any  correlative  duty  upon  those  who  alone 
possess  such  rights  and  means  ?  In  the  convention  which  framed  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  it  was  expressly  moved  that  "no  State 
shall  be  restrained  from  laying  duties  of  tonnage  for  the  purpose  of  clear- 
ing harbors  and  erecting  light  houses, "§  and  the  motion  was  rejected, 
expressly  on  the  ground  that  the  power  was  included  under  the 
power  "to  regulate  commerce."  The  power  of  Congress  over  this 
subject  is  therefore  clear,  unquestionable  and  exclusive ;  is  settled  by 
the  constitution,  settled  by  the  legislation  of  Congress,  and  by  the  gen- 
eral opinion  of  the  community,  and  ought  not  now  to  be  "opened,  clog- 
ged, conditioned  or  circumscribed." 

Congress,  exclusively,  have  the  constitutional  authority  to  regulate 
commerce,  (which  includes  navigation  J)  among  the  States  and  Indian 
tribes,  on  all  the  navigable  waters,  bays,  lakes,  rivers  and  harbors  of  the 
United  States  without  any  restraint  or  hindrance  by  State  legislation. 
Their  free  navigation  is  a  public  right,  and  any  obstruction  interposed 
thereto  is  a  public  nuisance.  This  authority  of  Congress  over  com- 
merce and  navigation,  embraces  every  navigable  river,  whether  it  runs 


t  If,  aa  eomc  think,  "roads  and  canals"  come  under  the  power  of  pro'v'iding  for  the  "  common 
defence  and  general  welfare,"  how  much  more  clearly  do  these  nangable  and  natural  highways 
of  the  nation.  "A  judicious  system  of  roads  and  canals,  constructed  for  the  convenience  of 
commerce,  and  the  transportation  of  the  mail  only,  without  any  reference  to  military  operations^ 
is  itself  among  the  most  efficient  means  for  the  more  complete  defence  of  the  United  States." — 
lleport  to  Congress,  Jan.  7,  1819,  by  J.  C.  Calhoun,  Sec'y  of  War. 

§  Madison  Papers,  p.  1,585. 

J  See'caae  of  Gibbon3_rs.  Evnns,  6  Wheaton's  Rep.  1, 


15 

through  or  by  three  States  or  only  one,  and  without  reference  to  the 
number  of  people  or  extent  of  country  interested.  In  what  manner 
was  the  power  of  Congress  over  commerce  and  navigation  exercised  on 
the  Atlantic  coast,  before  there  was  any  call  for  its  exercise  upon  the 
navigable  waters  of  the  west  ?  It  was  exercised  in  building  light  houses 
and  public  piers,  removing  rocks  and  other  obstructions  in  ship  channels 
and  harbors,  and  in  placing  beacons  and  buoys  to  guide  the  navigator  in 
safety  to  port.  But  can  it,  with  truth  be  said,  that  the  power  and  duty 
thus  properly  exercised  terminate  the  moment  the  same  navigator,  in 
one  continuous  voyage,  enters  from  the  sea  the  inland  waters  of  his 
country,  where  his  bark  will  be  still  exposed  to  danger?  The 
General  Government  exercises  jurisdiction  over  the  steamboats  of 
these  rivers — why  not  over  the  waters  themselves  ?  That  Govern- 
ment requires  these  steamboats  to  be  registered  in  their  custom-houses, 
and  licensed  under  their  laws.  They  prescribe  the  nature  of 
their  tiller  ropes — they  cause  a  lantern  to  be  hung  at  every  boW' — and 
can  the  same  power,  consistently,  disclaim  all  jurisdiction  over  natural 
obstacles  and  dangers  of  the  rivers  themselves  ?  And  with  what 
justice  can  a  power  delegated  in  equal  terms  over  "  foreign  commerce," 
and  "commerce  among  the  States,"  be  exercised  for  almost  the  exclusive 
benefit  of  the  "  foreign"  and  that  the  least  valuable  of  the  two?  The 
government  protects  a  foreign  commerce  and  coasting  trade  of  two 
or  three  hundred  millions,  with  a  Navy,  and  with  Ambassadors 
and  Consuls,  shields  it  with  public  piers  and  illuminates  its  path  with 
beacon  lights,  while  a  commerce  among  the  States  of  four  hundred 
millions  conducted  upon  their  inland  waters,  is  not  visited  with  even 
a  snag  boat,  not  a  farthing  light  to  designate  the  place  of  danger,  and 
is  left  to  perish  without  even  a  register  of  its  ruin.  Yet,  no  good  rea- 
son can  be  discovered  which  authorizes  such  partiality.  The  same 
authority  which  has  improved  the  harbors  and  channels  of  the  Atlantic 
coast,  is  applicable  to  the  coast  and  channels  of  the  navigable  rivers 
of  the  west. 

The  only  difference  is  in  the  manner  of  its  application.  In  the  one 
case,  the  danger  being  immovable,  is  pointed  out,  and  thus  avoided.  In 
the  other,  the  obstructions  are  of  a  changeable  nature,  and  are  controlla- 
ble and  removable  at  as  little  cost  as  the  others  can  be  pointed  out. 
This  has  been  ascertained  by  actual  experience. 

For  example :  In  the  year  1844,  the  amount  appropriated  by  Con- 
gress for  light  houses,  was  $420,285. 

The  following  estimate  of  Col.  Long,  of  the  U.  S.  Engineer  Depart- 


16 

ment,  accompanying  the  President's  Message,  of  December  1843,  relates 

to  the  cost  of  employing  snag  boats  for  removing  obstructions  in  the 

Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  : 

Employment  of  4  snag  boats,  9  months,  at  $2,160  per  month, 

each  boat, $77,760 

Repairs  and  outfit  of  the  same,  &c.,        .  -  -  6,000 

Employment  of  two  steam  machine  boats,  nine  months,  at  $1,- 

100  per  month,  each  boat,    ...  -  19,800 

Repairs,  &c.  of  same,  ,..-.-  3,000 

Construction  of  two  small  steam  boats,  or  transports  of  light 
draught,   to  serve  as  tow  boats,  tenders,  &c.,  in  the  service 

at  $8,000  each, 16,000 

Employment  of  same,  nine  months,  at  $800  per  month,  14,000 

$136,560 
This  is  exclusive  of  the  estimate  for  surveys,  as  the  appropriation  for 
liglit  houses  does  not  include  the  U.  S.  coast  survey. 

Supposing  that  the  river  service  should  require  eight  snag  boats  in- 
stead of  four,  and  to  be  effectual,  w^e  believe  it  would,  we  have  then  our 
estimate  of  the  cost  increased  to  $273,120,  and  yet,  not  equal  to  two- 
thirds  of  the  annual  cost  of  light  houses  on  the  sea  coast. 

But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  power  to  regulate  foreign  com- 
merce, includes  in  the  cost  of  its  exercise,  the  expenses  of  maintaining 
diplomatic  intercourse,  the  erection  of  customhouses,  and  survey  of  the 
coast,  all  of  which,  amounted  in  1842,  to  $944,095.  Add  to  this  the 
expenses  of  the  Coast  Squadron,  and  the  Navy,  $8,324,993,  and  we 
have  an  aggregate  of  $9,269,088,  annually  expended  in  the  protection 
of  foreign  commerce.  And  yet  the  total  amount  of  appropriations  by 
Congress  of  every  description,  for  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  and  its  waters,  from  its  commencement,  in  1824,  up  to 
the  year  1846,  was  only  $2,528,800.  Within  the  above  named  period, 
the  amount  expended  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  for  the  establishment  of  light 
houses,  buoys,  beacons,  and  piers,  was  $8,485,946,  and  the  amount  for 
harbors  on  the  same  coast  $4,415,177.  These  expenditures  in  behalf 
of  the  interests  of  foreign  commerce,  have  been,  and  are  still  very  properly- 
continued,  while  for  the  last  two  or  three  years,  all  expenditures  for  the 
improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  western  rivers,  and  the  protection 
of  their  vast  commerce,  have  altogether  ceased,  and  the  means  of  im- 
provement formerly  prepared,  and  many  of  the  works  hitherto  partially 
executed,  have  been  suffered  to  relapse  and  waste.  During  the  five 
years  that  snag  boats  were  at  work  in  our  rivers,  they  performed  bene- 
ficial service.      The  boats  themselves  were  of  simple  construction ;  yet 


17 

of  sufficient  power  to  remove  the  most  formidable  snag,  with  facility,  in 
a  few  minutes.  All  that  is  necessary  to  their  complete  success,  in  keep- 
ing the  channel  of  the  rivers  clear,  is,  in  the  first  place,  sufficient  annual 
and  specific  appropriations  of  money  to  keep  them  always  employed; 
secondly,  the  employment  of  practical  men  in  their  superintendence, 
who  are  familiar  with  the  navigation  and  its  peculiar  dangers;  thirdly, 
the  direct  application  of  all  the  means,  to  the  removal  of  obstructions  in 
the  channel,  allowing  the  exercise  of  a  sound  discretion  by  the  superin- 
tendent, rather  than  confining  him  to  the  limits  of  scientific  surveys, 
which  may  be  truthful  guides  at  the  time  they  were  made,  but  are  often 
no  longer  so,  when  they  are  platted.  It  is  not  the  removal  of  a  snag 
from  the  limits  of  a  survey  that  is  needed;  it  is  its  removal  from  the 
channel,  or  from  a  position  that  will  enable  the  water  to  make  a  better 
channel.  However  necessary  surveys  may  be  to  inform  the  Depart- 
ment at  Washington,  and  to  guide  the  authorities  in  making  estimates, 
yet,  by  practical  navigators,  they  are  regarded  as  of  little  service  for 
real  operations,*  having  reference  to  snags,  logs  and  stumps.  They  are 
admitted  to  be  essential  in  regard  to  works  of  a  permanent  character. 
There  are  other  obstructions  in  ihe  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio  Rivers, 
which  operate  as  a  considerable  tax  upon  transportation,  and  to  which 
the  attention  of  the  Government  has  been  properly  invoked.  We  allude 
to  the  Rapids  at  the  Des  Moines  River,  and  the  Upper,  or  Rock  River 

*  In  1823,  the  U.  S.  Board  of  Internal  Improvement,  olfcred  a  reward  of  $1,000  for  tlie  best  plaB 
of  remo^-ing  snags  &c.  from  the  channels  of  western  rivers.  The  premium  was  awai-ded  to  a  Mr. 
Bruce"of  Kentucky,  who  proposed  the  "Twin  Boats,"  operated  by  manual  power. 

In  1824,  Mr.  Bruce  served  as  an  agent  of  the  U.  States,  in  the  application  and  use  of  his  method 
on  the  Ohio  river,  under  Major  Babcock,  of  Corps  of  United  States'  Engineers,  and  continued  in 
the  service  till  1826,  when  Col.  Long  took  the  place  of  Major  Babcock.  Col.  Long  was  continued 
for  three  months  only,  when  Capt.  H.  M.  Shreeve  was  appointed,  and  continued  in  the  superin- 
tendence of  these  improvements  until  1839.  when  operations  ceased,  and  for  two  years  afterward. 
During  the  employmeut  of  Capt.  Shreeve,  important  improvements  were  made  upon  '-Bruce'a 
method"  and  in  1828,  new  snag  boats  were  built  and  worked  by  steam.  These  two  boats  con- 
tinued to  operate  for  six  years,  when  being  worn  out,  new  ones  were  constructed  to  supply  their 
place.  From  1828,  to  1838,  the  removal  of  snags  was  prosecuted  with  success,  in  the  Ohio,  Mis- 
sissippi, Arkansas  and  Red  rivers.  Prior  to  1838,  six  steam  snag  boats  had  been  constructed,  at 
an  average  cost,  for  each,  of  about  $25,000.  During  the  same  period,  eight  or  nine  small  steam 
boats,  belonging  to  the  Government,  were  employed  in  the  same  service.  In  1842,  $100,000  was 
appropriated  by  Congress  "for  building  and  repairing  the  necessary  boats,  and  for  carrying  on 
the  improvement  of  the  Missouri,  Mississippi,  Ohio  and  Arkansas  rivers."  Capt.  John  W.  Russell 
was  appointed  the  agent  of  the  United  States  and  the  boats  having  been  repaired  at  St.  Louis, 
the  work  of  removing  snags,  was  re-commenced  in  December  of  that  year,  and  continued  till 
April  17, 1843,  when  they  were  suspended  by  high  water,  but  resumed  in  August  following. 
Congress  appropriated  for  the  eighteen  months  ending  June  30,  1844,  $50,000;  up  to  which  time, 
the  works  were  continued.  Subsequent  appropriations  by  Congress,  failing,  either  to  meet  the 
approvalof  the  Executive,  or  to  be  returned  with  his  objections,  the  works  upon  the  i-ivers 
altogether  ceased,  and  the  snae  boats  &,c.  have  since  been  sold  at  a  sacrifice. 

3 


18 

Rapids,  in  the  Mississippi,  and  to  the  Falls  at  Louisville,  in  the  Ohio. 
The  Louisville  and  Portland  Canal  is  deemed  inadequate  to  the  wants  of 
commerce,  and  yet  it  imposes  a  tax  equal  to  about  eight  per  cent,  of  all 
the  cost  of  running  the  boats  which  pass  it.     The  sum  paid  to  that  canal 
by  110  boats,  trading  with  St.  Louis,   in   1843,  amounted  to  $33,500. 
A  boat  regularly  engaged  in  the  commerce  between  Cincinnati  and  St. 
Louis,  performing  four  trips  a  month,  or  thirty-two  trips  in  the  eight 
months  of  open  navigation,  paying  fifty  cents  per  ton  each  transit,  will 
pay  $16  per  ton  in  the  season,  and  thus,  in  four  seasons,  would  pay,  in 
tolls,  her  full  value.     The  government  being  a  stockholder  in  the  canal, 
a  part  of  this  excessive  toll  (excessive  profit,  too,  to  the  stockholders,) 
goes  into  the  public  treasury.     It  is  estimated  that  one-half  of  the  ton- 
nage passing  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  goes  through    the  canal,  and  that 
over  600,000  tens  annually  pass  the  Falls.     It  is  further  estimated  tha 
150,000  tons  annually  stop  at  Portland,  below  the  canal,  in  consequence 
of  the  boats  being  too  large  to  be  admitted  through.     Whether  the  Gov- 
ernment should  not  become  the  entire  owner    of  this    canal,    (having 
already  been  paid  more  than  its  original  investment,  in  its  share  of  tolls,) 
and  make  it  free,  and  enlarge  its  dimensions,  is  worthy  of  the  considera- 
tion of  Congress. 

The  Lower,  or  Des  Moines  Rapids,  of  the  Mississippi,  are  two  hun- 
dred and  four  miles  above  St.  Louis,  and  beyond  the  mouth   of  the  Des 
Moines   river,  whence  they  derive    their  name.     Commencing  a  little 
above   Keokuk,  the  Rapids  extend   nearly  up  to  Montrose,  or  old  Fort 
Des  Moines,  opposite  to  which  is  the  to,vn  of  Nauvoo.     The  length  of 
the    Rapids   is  estimated  at    eleven  miles,  having  a  fall  of  twenty-four 
feet.      "Here,"  says    Prof.  Nicollet,  "the  Mississippi  tumbles  over 
ledges  of  a  blue  limestone,  at  all  times  covered  with  more  or  less  water, 
and  through  which  many  crooked  channels  have  been  worn  by  the  action 
of  the  current.     During  low   stages   of  the    water,  the  passage  of  the 
Rapids    is  very  difficult,  as  well  in  consequence  of  the  shallowness  of 
the  water,  as  the  narrowness  and  tortuousness  of  the  channel,  so  that 
the  time  of  practicable  steamboat  navigation  is  shortened  by  nearly  three 
months  in  the  year,  which  is  about   the  duration  of  low  water  in  the 
river."     This,  together  with  the  closing  of  the  navigation  by  winter  for 
nearly  four  months  more,  reduces  the  season  of  practicable  steamboat 
navigation  to  about  five  months  in  the  year.     A  system  of  improvements 
was  commenced  by  Capt.  Lee,  of  the  U.  S.  Corps   of  Engineers,  under 
the  authority  of  the  Government,  and  continued  with  satisfactory  results 
until  the  appropriation  was  exhausted. 


19 

The  Upper,  or  Rock  River  Rapids,  so  named  from  their  proximity  to 
Rock  River,  are  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  miles  long,  extending  from  Rock 
Island  to  near  Port  Byron  on  the  left,  and  Parkhurst  on  the  right  side  of 
the  river.  The  fall,  according  to  Capt.  Lee,  from  the  head  to  the  foot  of 
the  Rapids,  is  twenty-five  and  three-quarter  (25|)  feet,  and  very 
much  of  the  character  of  the  Lower  Rapids.  In  consequence  of  the 
short  turns  and  narrowness  of  the  passes  between  the  reefs,  boats  cross 
the  current  obliquely,  and  run  great  risk  of  destruction.  Capt.  Lee 
has  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  removing  these  obstacles,  so  as  to 
afford  a  safe  passage  up  and  down  both  Rapids,  and  thus  a  continuous 
navigation  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  of 
2,200  miles.  At  a  point  called  the  English  Turn,  where  Capt.  Lee 
worked  out  a  channel  eighty  feet  in  width,  it  is  alleged  that  no  accident 
has  occurred  since  the  improvement  was  made.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  the  cost  of  improving  both  Rapids  would  be  about  $260,000.  The 
river  and  the  country  above  these  Rapids  are  as  beautiful  and  inviting 
as  any  part  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  soil  offers  substan- 
tial inducements  to  settlers,  either  in  fertility  or  mineral  riches. 
The  northern  part  of  Illinois,  the  new  States  of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin, 
the  virgin  territory  of  Minesota,  and  the  Government  itself,  are  all 
deeply  interested  in  the  perfection  of  this  navigation.  The  Government 
passes  these  Rapids  with  its  proceeds  of  land  sales,  with  its  supplies 
for  the  military  posts  at  Prairie  du  Chien  and  on  the  St.  Peters,  and  for 
the  Indian  tribes  situated  on  their  head  waters.  We  are  informed  by 
one  of  the  most  experienced  and  respectable  captains  in  the  trade,  that, 
for  the  last  twenty  years,  there  have  been  running  upon  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  an  annual  average  of  fifteen  steamboats,  which  have  annu- 
ally paid  three  thousand  dollars  each^  for  lighterage  and  detention  at  the 
Lower  and  Upper  Rapids,  or  an  annual  aggregate  of  forty-five  thousand 
dollars.  The  present  number  of  boats  running  upon  that  part  of  the 
river  is  stated  to  be  thirty,  which,  according  to  the  preceding  result, 
are  paying  ninety  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  simply  upon  account  of 
the  Rapids.  This  enormous  sum  is  levied  upon  the  produce  of  the 
farmers  and  miners  of  the  upper  country. 

"By  a  comparison  of  tables  of  freights  and  charges  made  when  the 
water  was  high  enough  for  boats  to  pass  the  rapids  without  discharging 
their  cargoes,  with  freight  and  charges  when  the  water  was  too  low,  it 
has  been  ascertained  that  the  increased  charges  are  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  per  cent.  When  the  extent  of  the  lead  trade  of  Galena,  Wiscon- 
sin and  Iowa,  is  considered,  (about  700,000  pigs  in  1845,)  the   largest 


20 

portion  of  which  has  to  be  exported  vvlien  the  waters  are  low;  the 
amount  of  agricultural  and'  other  products,  and  the  imports  of  necessary 
articles  from  other  parts  of  the  Union,  and  from  foreign  countries,  amount- 
ing to  several  millions  of  dollars  annually,  all  of  which  is  subjected  to 
this  increase  of  freight  and  charges;  and  when  to  this  we  add  the  num- 
ber of  travellers,  which  may  be  safely  set  down  at  from  twenty  to  thirty 
thousand  annually,  subject  to  the  same  increase  of  charges  on  this  ac- 
count; some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  amount  of  injury  which  the  com- 
munity sustains,  over  and  above  the  loss  from  the  detention  and  injury 
of  boats  and  cargoes.  It  is  asserted  by  men  practically  informed  on 
the  subject,  that  the  increase  of  freights  and  charges  caused  by  these 
obstructions,  would,  in  any  one  year,  more  than  quadruple  the  cost  of 
all  needful  improvements."* 

The  following  extract  from  a  report  made  by  a  Committee  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Burlington,  Iowa,  of  the  business  of  that  town,  for  the  year  end- 
ing June  1847,  will  afford  an  accurate  conception  of  the  effect  of  the 
Rapids  upon  the  commerce  of  that  single  town:  They  find,  after 
thorough  examination  of  the  receipts  and  shipments  of  the  different  mer- 
cantile houses,  that  there  have  been  imported  to  Burlington,  687  tons 
salt;  305  tons  iron,  stoves  and  castings;  2,784  tons  merchandize — mak- 
ing 3,776  tons  at  an  average  freight  of  six  dollars  per  ton,  $22,650  OQ. 

The  amount  of  produce  shipped  from  Burlington  is  found  to  be  as 
follows,  viz:  16,354  bushels  of  oats;  118,228  do.  corn;  207,948  do. 
wheat;  666  do.  beans;  500  do.  flaxseed;  1,847  do.  barley;  32,821  bbls. 
flour;  384  do.  whiskey;  1,643  tons  pork,  bacon  and  lard;  150  tons 
hay;  23  do.  dry  hydes — which  is  found  to  be  equal  to  fourteen  thousand 
two  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  at  an  average  of  $6,  is  $71,250.§ 

Number  of  steamboat  arrivals  524. 

Number  of  cabin  passengers  from  St.  Louis  to  Burlington,  estimated 
to  be  10  to  each  -vrrival  5,230,  at  an  average  of  $5  each  -         -         $25,150  00 

Number  of  decli  paaseiigers,  estimated  at  15  to  each  arrival,  7,845, 
at  an  average  of  $2  50 19,612  50 

Number  of  horses, 'carriages,  wagons,  &c.  1,000  at  an  average  fare 
oi^o 5^000  00 


$144,668  50 


'  Report  of  Committee  on  western  rivers,  at  Mempliia,  1645,  A.  B.  Chambers. 

§  The  City  of  Galena  exports  more  than  any  other  town  above  St.  Louis,  on  the  Mississippi. 
Its  exports  ol  lead  amounted,  in  1846,  to  672,420  pigs,  worth  about  S*2,225,000.  Export  of  copper, 
about  822,000.  Lumber,  $100,000.  Hides,  about  14,000.  Wheat,  150,000  bushels.  In  1844, 
there  were  three  hundred  and  eight  steamboat  arrivals  of  53.900  tons.  In  1846,  three  hundred 
and  thirty -three,  ot  58,275  tons. 


21 

From  which  deduct  the  probable  amount  of  freiglit  and  fare  if  the 
obstructions  were  removed  from  the  Rapids,  viz:  3,776  tons  freight  im- 
ported at  $2  50 $9,440  00 

14,250  tons  freight  exported  at  $2 28,500  00 

5,230  cabin  passengers  at  $3     - 15,690  00 

1,845  decic,      do.     $1  50             11,767  50 


$79,151  00 


To  which  should  be  added  for  losses  by  detention  arising  from  re-ship- 

ing,  towing,  and  additional  insurance  .         .         _         _         .      10,000  00 

For  loss  of  Iceel  and  flat  boats,  and  their  cargoes      -         .         -        -         10,500  00 

For  depreciation  in  value  of  all  surplus  which  finds  a  market  through 
this  point,  estimated  to  be,  the  present  year,  $504,000  at  10  per 
cent 50,040  00 

Estimated  loss  to  steamboat  owners,  merchants  and  Insurance  offices, 
from  stranded  boats  and  loss  of  cargoes,  which  your  Committee 
have  not  the  means  of  ascertaining,  say     -----        10,00000 


$159,691  00 


The  Steamboat,  arrivals  at  St.  Louis,  from  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
for  five  years,  were  as  follows: 

1841,  143  Steamboats  108  Keelboats, 

1842,  195  «  88  « 

1843,  244  «  55  « 

1845,  647  «  Not  reported. 

1846,  663  «  do. 

We  are  advised  by  one  celebrated  in  the  science  of  medicine,  that  if 
we  keep  the  head  cool,  the  feet  warm  and  the  body  open,  mankind  will 
never  need  a  physician.  The  Father  of  waters  cools  his  head  in  the 
frigid  regions  of  the  north;  warms  his  feet  in  the  sunny  air  of  the  tropics, 
and  requires  only  the  removal  of  natural  obstacles  which  obstruct  his  inte- 
rior channels,  to  place  him  beyond  the  necessity  of  human  aid.  Such 
then  would  be  his  condition  of  health  and  prosperity,  that  the  millions 
swarming  upon  his  borders,  acknowledging  no  king  but  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  Commerce  and  the  Laws,  would  present  an  example  of  numbers, 
v/ealth  and  influence  "above  all  Grecian,  beyond  all  Roman  fame," 
and  beside  which,  all  the  grandeur  of  European  nations,  ancient  and 
modern,  would  be  as  nothing. 

But  however  important  maj^  be  an  unobstructed,  continuous  and  navi- 
gable channel,  an  ability  to  land  and  reach  the  wharves  of  populous, 
commercial  cities,  where  cargoes  are  discharged,  boats  repaired  and 
re-freighted,  and  crews  refreshed,  is  equally  essential. 


22 

The  City  of  St.  Louis  is  tlie  base  of  the  navigation  of  all  the  Upper 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  and  the  head  of  navigation  for  the  larger 
boats  from  the  Ohio  and  the  Lower  Mississippi.  Here  is  concentrated, 
all  the  trade  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  the  Missouri  and  the  Illinois 
rivers,  and  a  large  portion  of  that  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Lower  Mississippi. 
Hence  is  exhibited  as  busy  and  crowded  a  wharf  as  can  any  where  be 
seen,  upon  which  are  commingled,  people  of  many  nations,  and  products 
of  every  clime,  and  every  species  of  industry.  The  city  was  built  upon 
a  limestone  bluff,  of  moderate  elevation,  fronting  on  the  Mississippi, 
whose  water  washed  its  base  with  a  convenient  depth.  From  the  con- 
dition of  a  fur-trader's  post,  it  has  grown  to  the  quality  of  a  city,  promis- 
ing soon  to  be  of  the  iirst  class.  From  a  mere  boat  load  of  traders,  its 
population  has  gone  on  multiplying,  until  it  has  reached  the  number  of 
50,000.  From  a  trade  of  a  few  thousand  dollars  in  furs  and  peltries, 
a  commerce  has  arisen  which  counts  its  millions.  It  has  grown  to  be 
the  greatest  steamboat  port,  next  to  New-Orleans,  in  the  world.  Its 
enrolled  and  licensed  tonnage,  was 

In  1844,  16,664  tons, 

1843,  20,424, 

1846,  23,800, 

At  $65  per  ton,  its  tonage  for  1846,  was  worth         .        -        -        $1,547,000 

But  this  tonage  of  its  own  is  not  all  that  is  required  by  its  trade. 
The  total  number  of  steamboat  arrivals  at  St.  Louis  was. 

In  1839,  1476,  with  213,193  tons. 
In  1840,  1721,     "     244,185       " 
In  1844,  2105,    «      371,691       " 
In  1846,  2412,     «     467,824      " 

Besides  801  flat  boats,  and  is  exclusive  of  the  trips  of  the  daily  pack- 
ets to  Alton.  During  the  month  of  May,  1846,  there  were  12  steam 
boat  arrivals  per  daj'. 

The  following  table  of  the  imports  to  St.  Louis  during  the  years 
named,  is,  but  an  approximation  to  the  actual  truth,  as  many  articles  of 
great  value,  such  as  dry  goods,  hardware,  cutlery,  specie,  bullion,  fancy 
articles,  furniture,  machinery,  farming  implements,  leather,  army  and 
Indian  supplies,  wool,  castor  oil,  hay,  horses,  mules,  cattle,  hogs  and 
sheep,  &c.,  &c.,  are  omitted. 

TABLE  OF  IMPORTS  INTO  ST.  LOUIS  FOE,  THE  YEARS  1S44,  1845,  &  1846: 

1844.  1S45.         1846. 

Apples— Green,  bbls 7,233 6,314 3,728 

Dried    do 1,892 2,989...... 3,255 

Do.    sacks 2,388 2,147 2,768 


23 


1844.        1845.  1846. 

Beef— bbls 4,280 5,264 17,116 

hair    bbls 63 99 169 

Bacon— casks 19.225 6,180 11,803 

boxes, 484 149 618 

bulk,   lbs 89,723 94,274 . . .  .207,446 

Butter— bbls G18 558 823 

kegs   and  firkins, 3,009 3,424 3,940 

Beeswax— bbls 337 319 476 

boxes  and  sacks, 837 631 646 

Baggins- pieces, 3,120 4,217 3,243 

Beans- bbls 1,518 2,091 4,370 

sacks, 389 1,320 2,199 

Bai-ley— bushels, 8,478 32,231 20,277 

Buffalo   Robes 33,670 .....  14,475 16,717 

Corn— bushels 5,6,720....  107,927 688,644 

Castings— tons 937 1,590 1,604 

Cheese— casks, 550 221 430 

boxes - 9,337 8,822 11,232 

Cider— bbls 711 763 421 

Coffee— sacks, 38,731 46,204 65,128 

Cotton  Yarn— packages, 5,354 10,756 13,260 

j^  lour— bbls 88,881 ....  139,282. . . .  220,457 

half  bbls 530 563 1,059 

Furs— packages, - 973 2,555 3,011 

Feathers— sacks, 471 816 .768 

Flaxseed— bbls 2,741 2,136 3,693 

Ginseng— bbls - 75 20 19 

sacks, 34 63 58 

Glass— boxes 4,697 23,563 24,630 

Herai)— bales, 59,292 30,997 33,853 

Hides 55,572 70,102 63,396 

ronBar— ton, 1=981 2,282 .2,484 

Pig     do 1.469 1,480 2,326 

Lead— pigs 595,012 750,879 730,820 

bars— lbs 19,300 88,650 7,621 

Lard— bbls 12,293 7,652 26,462 

kegs, 12.949 6,659 14,734 

Liquor— Whisky— bbls - 24,510 29,798 29,882 

Brandy— do 1,477 1,886 1,698 

Wine— do 2,611 3,600 3,084 

Lead-white-kegs 5,256 3,466 1,526 

Molasses-bbls 3,270 11,788 14,996 

Nails-kegs 23,703 21,587 28,073 

Oils— Linseed— bbls 140 695 826 

Castor    do 106 78 95 

Lard      do 867 284 292 

Onions-bbls 1.449 217 463 

sacks, 2,351 1,893 4,753 

Oakum-bales 681 1,104 1,378 

Oats-bushels, 16,480 16,112 95,612 

Pork-bbls 29,945 15,702 48,981 


24 

184:4.  1815.  1846. 

Pork— half  bbls 73 89 39 

bulk  lbs 13fi,333 261,754 030,763 

Peaches— green— bbls 382 735 420 

dried     do 3jG 1,000 1,210 

do.    sacks 445 826 295 

Potatoes— bbls 3,915 2,449 3,625 

sacks 21,272 12,0  45 20,979 

Peltries— packages 540 917 1,266 

Rice— tierces 670 869 916 

bbls 103 34 

Rye— bushels, 61 3,054 5,283 

Rope— Herap— coils, 13,525 8,890 5,122 

Shot— kegs — .23 462 

bags 88 2,112 1,026 

Skins, 32,859 25,205. 23,872 

Salt— Domestic— bbls 27,736 21.157 58,948 

Liverpool— sacks, 112,.507 99,272 169,373 

Turk's   Island— bags, 11,727 13.412 8,391 

Sugar- bhds 9,070 10,2.59 11,603 

bbls 1,912 3,721 4,400 

Havana— boxes 1,630 516 1,3.53 

Tallow— casks, 32 75 303 

bbls 810 688 1,114 

Tai-- bbls 528 1,630 1,558 

kegs 2,011 4,128 5,776 

Tobacco— bhds 9,707 11, .564 8,588 

manufactured — boxes 7,380 7,777 7,903 

Tea— chests 1,361 434 2,091 

half  chests 879 1,6.52 1,963 

Vinegar— bbls 1 ,373 1,032 ]  ,086 

Wheat— bushels 720,003 971,023. ..1,838,926 

The  following  table  embraces,  imports,  to  the  city,  ol'  wood  and  lum- 
ber for  the  years 


1845. 

1846. 

Cords  of  wood, 

22,646 

29,476 

Lumber,  feet, 

10,389,332 

13,169,332 

Shingles,  M., 

13,927,.500 

10,652,000 

Cooper  stuff, 

41,700 

966,963 

Posts, 

5,263 

6,997 

Laths, 

2,328,700 

1,807,700 

During  the  present  year,  (1847)  the  business  of  the  City  has  materi- 
ally increased.  In  the  articles  of  flour  and  wheat  the  increase  has  been 
nearly  one  hundred  per  cent,  both  in  quantity  and  value.  The  money 
value  of  nearly  all  agricultural  products,'has  greatly  increased,  and  the 
quantity  put  in  motion  has  been,  in  respect  to  most  of  the  articles  exported, 
augmented  in  about]|the  same  proportion. 


25 

The  total  annual  commerce  of  St.  Louis,  imports  and  exports  included, 
alihough  yet  in  its  infancy,  is  estimated  at  over  $75,000,000,*  equalling 
nearly  one-third  of  the  whole  foreign  commerce  of  the  United  States. 

The  income  of  the  city  per  annum  is  $275,000 

Taxable  property  for  1845,         -         -  13,607,000 

"              "          "     1846,    -         -  14,544,238 

«              "          '•'     1847,         -         -  16,665,142 

Amount  of  duties  paid  to  the  United  States  at  the  St.  Louis  Custom 
House,  the  current  year,  $'50,000. 

The  United  States  Arsenal  is  beautifully  situated  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  city,  and  consists  of  stone  buildings  and  walls  of  great  value  and 
durability.  Jefferson  Barracks,  eiglit  miles  below,  constantly  occupied 
by  more  or  less  troops  of  the  United  States,  and  capable  of  accommo- 
dating two  Regiments,  is  considered  one  of  the  most  eligible  stations  in 
the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Both  the  Arsenal  and  the  Barracks  have 
been  of  great  and  indispensable  service  to  the  Government  in  the  pres- 
ent war.     The  two  comprise  a  value  in  Government  properity  of  $1,- 

*This  sum  may  seem  too  large  ;  but  of  the  innumerable  articles  of  trade,  take  flour  and  wheat 

as  one  example : 

1846.     Barrels  of  flom-  manufactured  in  the  city 223,500 

"      "     imported 221.086 

Total,  barrels  flour 444,586 

Worth  at  8-5  per  barrel , g:?,322,930 

Bushels  of  wheat  imported,  1,8:38,026,  worth  $1  per  bushel 1,838,926 

Total  value  of  the  flour  and  wheat  of  St.  Louis,  1846 $4,061,856 

And,  as  thisdoes  not  include  the  quantities  brought  to  the  city  in  wagons,  the  estimate  is  below 
the  fact,  and  still  much  below  the  bu;<iness  of  1647. 

Yet,  so  many  will  be  still  disposed  to  doubt  the  estimate,  that,  rather  than  reduce  a  single  fig- 
ure, we  will  offer  one  method  of  demonstrating  its  truth. 

We  have  shown  that  the  average  tonnage  of  steamboats  trading  at  St.  Louis  is  210  tons  per  boat 
— that  there  are  2412  arrivals  per  aunum  of  steam  boats,  and  800  anivals  of  flat  boats.  The 
flat  boats  we  will  average  at  the  low  rate  of  50  tons  each. 

2412x210=506,520 
800  X   50=  40,000 


Total  tons 546.530 

Now,  what  is  the  value  of  a  ton  i  Take,  for  the  purpose  of  deriving  an  average,  say  eleven  of 
our  principal  articles  of  ti-ade,  yet  of  the  lowest  value  per  ton.  For  example  :  Hay  is  worth  $20; 
Tobacco  §90;  Lead  $75;  Hemp  $75 ;  Flour  $G5;  Com  $22;  Wheat  S44 ;  Oats  $22;  Pork  §130; 
Bacon  §130 ;  Beef  §88 — average  value  per  ton,  §68.  Most  other  articles  of  import  and  export 
are  worth  more.  Let  us  then  multiply  our  average  value  of  a  ton  by  the  number  of  tons,  546,- 
520  x 68=$37,103,360.  But  these  are  articles  of  export.  Our  imports  must  be  equivalent.  The 
sum  must,  therefore,  be  doubled.  We  have,  then,  $74,206,720,  as  the  value  of  our  imports  and 
exports  by  bonis.  There  ai-e  §2,000,000  of  specie  and  bullion  to  be  added.  There  are  vast  amounts 
arriving  and  depai-ting  by  wagons  ;  many  rafts  of  lumber  ;  1,335,873  bushels  of  coal,  and  many 
other  items  to  be  added,  increasing,  rather  than  reducing  our  estimate.  The  tables  of  imports 
derived  from  the  Harbor  Master's  Register,  are  very  Imperfect,  and  fall  very  far  short  of  the  ti-uth. 
For  example  :  The  number  of  Buffalo  Robes  received  in  1846,  are  put  down  at  16,717,  while  we 
are  assured,  by  the  best  authority,  that  the  number  was  as  high  as  60,000. 

4 


26 

750,000,  and  permanent  and  valuable  improvements  are  still  going  on. 
In  consequence  ot*  the  lavorableness  ol"  the  position,  the  cheapness  of 
manulacture,  and  the  Jacility  oC  communication  in  every  direction,  the 
Government  has  had  very  large  supplies  manufactured  here;  much 
larger,  probably,  than  at  any  other  arsenal  in  the  United  States.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  existing  war,  enormous  quantities  of  Government 
stores  will  be  turned  in  upon  the  Mississippi ;  reost  of  which,  will 
come  to  this  arsenal  for  repairs  and  storage.  The  increasing  demands 
upon  it,  liave  constrained  the  ollicer  in  charge,  already  to  report  the 
shops,  laboratories  and  magazines  as  too  small  for  the  public  wants.  Since 
the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  war,  there  have  been  manufactured 
at  this  arsenal,  gun-powder  munitions  and  other  ordnance  stores,  to  the 
amount  of  about  1150  tons,  costing  several  millions  of  dollars,  and  sent 
up  and  down  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi  ;  between  400  and  500 
tons  of  shells  and  shot ;  about  7,000,000  of  cartridges  for  small  arras, 
of  which,  2,500,000  were  made  in  the  single  month  of  April,  besides 
enormous  quantities  of  artillery  munitions,  giving  employment  for  con- 
siderable times  together  to  500  to  600  hands.  The  unequalled  advan- 
tages of  this  city,  as  a  military  position,  have  been  fully  demonstrated 
during  the  present  war. 

Such  is  the  commerce,  property  and  population  of  a  city,  now-  threat- 
ened with  the  ruin  of  its  landing.  Opposite  the  city,  it  is  well  known, 
lies,  within  the  limits  of  Illinois,  the  great  American  Bottom,  averaging 
five  miles  in  width,  and  extending  from  opposite  the  month  of  the  Mis- 
souri, about  seventy  miles  below.  This  bottom  consists  of  alluvial  depos- 
ite,  and  in  1844,  was  entirely  overflowed.  Into  this  bottom  the  main  chan- 
nel of  the  Mississippi,  defleclcd  from  the  Missouri  shore  above  the 
city,  has  been,  for  many  years,  making  a  slow,  but  sensible  progress, 
leaving  a  deposite  of  sand  on  the  shore  it  is  deserting  the  entire  length 
of  the  city.  Two  immense  islands  have  been  formed,  in  the  former 
channel  of  the  river,  extending  along  the  front  of  the  whole  city,  and 
the  lower  one,  extending  from  the  United  States  Arsenal,  at  the  south- 
ern limits,  to  a  point  as  high  as  the  centre  of  the  city,  is,  in  low 
water,  connected  with  the  main  land,  affording  a  dry  communication  be- 
tween— thus,  already  shutting  out  from  the  river,  one  half  of  the  city. 
A  flat  bar,  projecting  from  the  upper  end  of  this  island  is  gradually  ex- 
tending itself  up  the  river;  a  deposite  is  also  commencing  between  the 
upper  island  and  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  city,  the  main  channel 
running  east,  or  on  the  Illinois  side  of  both  islands,  and  renderin"-  the 
usual  approach  to  the  city  landing  unavailable,  and  in  low  water,  the  last 


27 

■season,  but  a  narrow  point  was  left,  at  which  boats  of  the  larger  class, 
could  effect  a  landing  at  the  wharf. 

The  destruction  of  this  landing,  and  the  abandonment  and  ruin  of  this 
great  emporium  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  would  be  a  general 
and  an  insufferable  calamity.  It  would  not  be  confined  alone  to  the  ruin 
of  the  city,  and  the  destruction  of  the  great  advantages  now  enjoyed 
here  by  the  Government,  but  the  soft  alluvion  of  the  American  Bottom, 
continually  giving  way  to  the  force  of  the  current,  will  admit  of  the 
formation  of  new  channels,  ever  changing,  diffused  over  a  wide  surface, 
destroying  farms,  undermining  forests,  exposing  the  accumulated  flood- 
wood  of  former  years,  and  presenting  a  scene  of  devastation  and  dan- 
gerous navigation,  without  example.  Such  a  calamity  as  this  now  im- 
pending, will  have  a  general  effect,  ir.jurious  to  the  commerce  and  navi- 
gation of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  injurious  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  from  which  it  will  take  years  of  time  and  millions  of  money 
to  recover.  Such  disastrous  consequences  may  now  be  easily  averted. 
A  few  thousand  dollars,  judiciously  expended  now,  in  building  a  dyke, 
or  dam,  a  few  hundred  yards  in  length,  from  the  Ilhnois  shore  to  Bloody 
Island,  would  confine  the  river  to  its  old  channel  on  the  Missouri  shore, 
and  save  the  future  expenditure  of  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  the  loss 
of  millions  of  property.  The  people  of  St.  Louis  see  the  remedy,  but 
are  utterly  powerless  to  reach  it.  The  case  is  beyond  the  political  and 
municipal  jurisdiction  of  the  .  city  of  St.  Louis  and  State  of  Missouri. 
The  boundary  of  our  State  is  the  middle  of  tlie  main  channel  of  the 
Mississippi  river.  The  very  commencement  of  operations  to  save  the 
landing  and  to  restore  the  old  channel,  should  properly  be  on  the  Illinois 
shore.  Between  these  two  jurisdictions  Congress  alone  has  the  power 
to  interpose,  and  regulate  the  commerce  between  them.  The  two  States 
of  Missouri  and  Illinois  are  prohibited,  by  the  Constitution,  from  ever 
agreeing  together  on  the  subject,  and  the  power  of  imposing  a  duty  on 
tonnage,  to  raise  a  fund  to  improve  such  a  harbor  or  landing,  was  taken 
from  the  States,  in  the  Convention  which  framed  the  Constitution,  and 
delegated  wholly  to  Congress.  Besides,  the  City  of  St.  Louis  is  a  port 
of  entry  ;  the  seat  of  a  United  States  Custom  House ;  of  a  U.  S.  Sub- 
treasury ;  of  a  U.  S.  Land  Office  5  of  a  U.  S.  Superintendency  of  Indian 
Affairs ;  of  a  U.  S.  Surveyor  General's  Office  ;  of  a  U.  S.  Arsenal ;  a 
landing  place  for  a  Military  Barracks  ;  the  Head-Quarters  of  a  U.  S, 
Military  Division,  and  the  point  from  which  the  U.  S.  Military  Posts 
of  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  Missouri  are  garrisoned  and  supplied. 
Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  comprehend  the  extent  of  the  vast  interests  of 


28 

the  Government  and  people  here  co-mingled.  And  as  the  territory 
and  population,  commerce  and  navigation,  ol"  the  country  are  increasing, 
almost  beyond  the  ability  of  the  imagination  to  keep  pace  with  them, 
this  point  is  diiUy,  pari  passu,  advancing  in  importance,  as  the  commer- 
cial centre,  the  seat  of  concentrated  capital,  talent,  skill  and  enterprize. 
And  shall  this  proud  prospect,  and  all  this  accumulated  capital  and  pop- 
ulation, be  scattered  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  shifting  from  point  to 
point,  with  every  vicissitude  of  a  quicksand  of  the  Mississippi,  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  they  are  deprived  of  the  political  (not  physical) 
power  of  expending  the  comparative  pitance  of  $>  150,000  to  secure  their 
landing  ?  We  trust  that  no  such  shameful  implication  of  inefficiency  in 
the  institutions  of  our  country  will  be  permitted,  but  that  the  Govern- 
ment, seeing  their  power,  their  sympathy,  and  the  exercise  of  their  duty 
so  earnestly  invoked,  and  the  welfare  of  so  many  people,  as  well  as  its 
own  interests  so  deeply  involved,  will  promptly  extend  the  relief  the 
case  so  urgently  demands. 

We  cannot  close  this  paper  without  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  proposition  of  Congress,  of  1837,  to  erect  hospitals  on  the  western 
waters,  for  the  relief  of  sick  and  disabled  boatmen,  remains  unexecuted, 
while  the  demand  for  such  institutions  has  greatly  increased,  and  con- 
tinues to  increase.  The  boatmen,  however,  are  yet  taxed,  a  portion  of 
their  wages  is  still  collected  by  the  ofRcers  of  the  United  States,  under 
the  law  of  1798,  and  yet  the  provisions  originally  contemplated,  and  es- 
sentially necessary,  are  incomplete  and  insufficient;  the  demands  upon 
the  hospital  being  greatly  multiplied  beyond  the  means  afforded  for  re- 
lief. The  weather-beaten  boatman  is  taxed  when  well,  that  he  may  be 
taken  care  of  when  sick,  yet  when  the  hour  of  misfortune  arrives,  he 
discovers  that  his  contributions  to  the  fund  only  make  the  more  poignant 
the  disappointment  he  feels  at  being  denied  its  advantages. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

THO:  ALLEN,  Chairman. 


Exports  of  PWaburgh,  east,  1547  —The  amount  of  freights  shipped  from  Pittsburgh  eastward, 
from  the  15th  of  ^^arch  to  the  31st  of  May,  of  this  present  year,  not  including  the  shipments  of 
the  31st,  is  registered  at  73,936,390  lbs.,  conveyed  in  1,300  canal  boats.  From  the  opening  of  the 
canal  in  1846  to  the  Ist  of  June  of  that  year,  the  amoimt  transported  eastward  was  40. 109.820  lbs., 
conveyed  in  939  boats— showing  an  excess  for  the  present  year,  thus  far,  over  a  similar  period 
last  year,  of  33,836,.'j~0  lbs.  A  single  item  will  give  point  to  the  exposition  of  this  canal  trade. 
From  the  15th  of  March,  1R47,  to  let  of  May,  1847,  there  were  shipped  eastward  on  the  canal 
64,042  barrels  of  flour.  The  item  of  pork  for  the  same  period  of  little  over  six  weeks  shows 
82,621  barrels ;  bacon,  4,073,833  lbs.;  lard,  3,729,584  lbs.;  hemp.  1.323;988  lbs.;  tobacco,  975,148  lbs. 


APPENDIX. 


LENGTH    OF    STEAMBOAT    NAVIGATION    ON    I^HE    PRINCIPAL 

RIVERS. 

Mississippi,  from  the  Gulf  to  St.  Anthony's  Falls 2.-:?00  miles. 

Missouri,  from  its  Mouth  to  the  foot  of  the  Rapids., 2,000  "         | 

Red  River,  to  head  of  navigation ],100  " 

Ohio,  to  Pittsburgh 1,000  " 

Arkansas,  to  mouths  of  the   N  eosho  and  Verdigris 630  " 

Tennessee,  to  Chattanooga 485  " 

Wabash,  to   Lafayette 300  " 

Illinois,  to  Ottawa 250  " 

Cumberland,  to  Nashville 200  " 

Osage * 200  " 

A  steamboat,  leaving  Pittsburgh  and  going  to  New  Orleans,  and  being  there  chartered 
to  go  up  the  Missouri  as  high  as  the  Rapids,  and  thence  returning  to  Pittsburgh,  will  per 
form  a  kegular  voyage  of  about  8,450  miles,  a  distance  nearly  equal  to  crossing  the 
Atlantic  three  times! 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 

The  Mississippi  River  takes  its  rise  in  latitude  48°  north,  and  discharges  its  waters 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  latitude  29-^  5'.  It  flows  through  a  channel  3,000  miles  long. 
Its  course  is  south,  nearly  14°  east.  Its  width  averages  about  half  a  mile.  Its  width 
does  not  increase  with  the  volume  of  water,  but  is  about  the  same  at  Galena,  1,600  miles 
above  the  mouth,  as  at  New  Orleans,  where  the  volume  is  six  times  as  gi-eat.  It  is  645 
yards  wide  at  Vidalia,  Louisiana.  It  drains  an  area  of  300,000  square  miles.  Its  mean 
velocity  at  the  surface,  for  the  year,  opposite  Vidalia,  is  1  .88  miles  per  hour.  (Opposite 
St.  Louis  its  velocity  is  about  three  miles  per  hour.)  Its  mean  depth,  per  annum,  across 
the  entire  channel,  at  the  same  place,  (Vidalia,)  is  about  sixty  feet.  The  mean  velocity 
is  reduced  about  fifteen  per  cent,  by  friction  against  the  bottom.  The  total  amount  of 
water  discharged,  per  annum,  in  cubic  feet,  is  8,092,118,940,000. — [Prof.  Forshey. 


MISSOURI  RIVER. 

The  Missouri  River  rises  within  one  mile  of  the  head  waters  of  the  great  river  of  the 
Oregon.  It  opens  the  "gates  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  at  a  point  411  miles  above  the 
head  of  its  navigation.  The  following  are  some  of  its  principal  tributaries,  each  naviga- 
ble, from  100  to  800  miles  : 

The  Yellowstone  River 800  yards  wide  at  its  mouth. 

Chienne  "     400  "  " 

White  "     300  "  " 

BigSioux  "      110  "  " 

Platte  "     600  "  « 

Kanzas  "     233  "  " 

Grand  "     190  "  " 

LaMine  "     70  "  " 

Osage  "     397  "  " 

Gasconade  "    "  " 

The  length  of  the  Missouri,  from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  is  3,096  miles,  and  no  substan- 
tial obstruction  impedes  its  navigation  from  its  mouth  to  the  falls,  2,000  miles.    Consider- 


30 

iug  the  Missouri  as  one  river  from  it»  sources  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  it  is  the  longest  iu  tho 
world.  Its  average  rapidity  is  nearly  twice  that  of  the  Mississippi,  as  the  average  level 
of  its  valley  is  nearly  twice  more  elevated  than  that  of  the  Mississippi.  The  first  year  a 
steamboat  navigated  tlie  Missouri  was  1819.  The  following  is  an  exhibit  of  tlie  number 
of  steamboats  engaged  in  the  trade  of  that  river  from  1638  to  184G: 

Year.  Number  of  Boats.  Nnmber  nf  Trips. 

18:)8 17 96 

183!) ^■',r^ 141 

184U J-^ 147 

1H41 Wi UrZ 

1842 Jil 88 

1843 •-'<; -MT) 

18  i.i,  arrivals  at  St.  Louis  from  the  Missouri -^49 

1846,         "  "  "  "  256 

The  Santa  Fe  trade,  and  the  Fur  and  Indian  trade,  as  well  as  the  domestic  commerce 
of  that  river,  are  very  inijiortant  and  extensive,  and  there  are  those  who  anticipate  the 
period  when  that  stream  will  be  made  a  great  artery  of  the  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  China  and  the  East  Indies.  The  trade  between  St.  Luuis^nd  Santa  Fe  is  es- 
timated at  S.'>00,000  per  annum.  The  Fur  trade  of  St.  Louis  is  valued  at  $300,000  per' 
annum. 


AGRICULTURAL  PRODUCTS. 

The  Agricultural  Products  of  the  States  of  IventuoUy,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Iowa  and  Wis- 
consin, for  184.5,  were  in  part  as  tollows  :  wheat,  5-.2,4i!3,000  bushels;  oats  88.336,000; 
corn,  •J!)7.396,000  ;  Potatoes,  26,69  >,00a  ;  Tobacco,  pounds,  123,962,400;  cotton,  631,670,000  ; 
sugar,  194,047,000. 


COMPARATIVE  STATEMENT  OP  EXPENSES. 

Comparative  statement  of  the  expenses  of  a  boat  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  of 
one  on  the  Lower  Mississippi: 

Steamboat  I ,  ol  249  tons,  from  St.  Louis  to  New  Orleans,  from  29th  May  to  16th 

Jane,  1847i  inclusive,  (18  days.)     , 

To  wood, S8o6  62 

"  wages, 1,017,61 

"  stores, 467  76 

"  expenses 223  10 

Total, S2,565  09 

Being  an  average  of  S142  50  per  day. 

Down  cargo,  .520  tons. 

Steamboat  F ,  of  120  tons,  from  St    Louis  to  the  Upper  Mississippi,  from  March 

27th  to  June  8th,  being  73  days: 

To  wood , Si, 31 3  89 

"  wages, » 3.fi-,0  00 

"  expenses, 2,2.")1   85 

"  lighting, 676  45 

Total, .$7,892,19 

Being  an  average  of  $108  11  per  day. 

But  the  average  expense  of  the  M ,  of  886  tons,  is  $355  per  day  ;  trading  be 

tween  St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans. 

The  average  daily  expense  of  the  W ,  of  498  tons,  is  $325,  engaged  in  the 

same  trade. 

The  expense  of  the  D ,  of  132  tons,  running  on  the  Illinois  river,  is  «70  per  day. 


31 
LETTER  FROM  HON.  THOMAS  H.  BENTON. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Delegation  appointed  to  attend  the  Chicago  Convention,  held  at 
the  Planters'  House,  on  Saturday,  the  26th  of  June,  F.  M.  Haight,  Esq.,  in  the  Chair, 
James  E.  Yeat.man,  Esq.,  presented  the  folluwing  letter  from  the  Hun.  Thomas  H.  Ben- 
ton, which  was  read,  approved,  and  ordered  to  be  printed  with  the  report  of  this  Dele- 
gation :  A.  B.  CHAMBERS,  Secretary. 

St.  Louis,  June  20,  1847. 
To  Messrs.  Way.man  Ciiow,  Edwaed    Walsh,  James   E.  Yeat.man  and    others,  a 
Committee.  &c. 

Geullemcn  : — 

In  my  brief  note  addressed  to  you  on  my  return  from  Jefferson  City,  I  expressed 
the  gratification  I  should  have  felt  in  going  with  the  St.  Louis  Delegation  to  tlie  Chicago 
Convention,  and  made  known  tlie  reason  which  would  prevent  me  from  having  that 
pleasure. 

The  Lake  and  River  navigation  of  the  Great  West,  to  promote  which  the  Convention 
is  called,  very  early  had  a  share  of  my  attention,  and  I  never  had  a  doubt  of  the  constitu- 
tionality or  expediency  of  bringing  tliat  navigation  within  the  circle  of  internal  improve- 
•^    ment  by  the  Federal  Government,  when  the  object  to  be  improved  sliould  be  one  of  gen- 
eral and  national  importance. 

The  junction  of  the  two  great  systems  of  waters  which  occupy  so  mucli  of  our  country — 
the  Northern  Lakes  on  one  hand,  and  the  Mississippi  River  and  its  tributaries  on  the 
other — appeared  to  me  to  be  an  object  of  that  character,  and  Chicago  the  proper  point 
for  effecting  the  union ;  and  near  tliirty  years  ago,  I  wrote  and  publislied  articles  in  a  St. 
Louis  newspaper  in  favor  of  that  object,  indicated,  and  almost  accomplished  by  nature 
herself,  and  wanting  but  a  helping  liand  from  man  to  complete  it.  Articles  in  the  St. 
Louis  Enquirer  of  April,  1819,  express  the  opinions  which  1  then  entertained,  and  the 
"■report"  of  that  period,  published  in  the  same  paper,  to  the  Secretary  at  War,  by  Messrs* 
Graham  and  PhilHps,  in  favor  of  that  canal  (and  which  '■'■report"  I  wrote)  was  probably  the 
first  formal  communication,  upon  authentic  data,  in  favor  of  the  Chicago  canal.  These 
gentlemen,  with  Mr.  John  C.  Sullivan,  of  Missouri,  had  been  appointed  by  the  Secretary 
at  War,  to  ran  a  line  from  the  south  end  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi.  I  proposed 
to  them  to  examine  the  ground  between  Chica^'o  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Illinois 
Hiver,  with  a  view  to  the  construction  of  a  caaul  by  tlie  Federal  Government.  They 
did  so;  and  on  their  return  to  St.  Louis,  submitted  all  their  observations  to  me  ;  and  hence 
the  publications  in  the  newspapers,  and  the  report  to  the  Secretary  at  War.  I  mention 
this  to  shew  that  mj' opinions  on  this  subject  are  of  long  standing  ;  and  that  the  national- 
ity of  the  Chicago  canal,  and,  of  course,  of  the  harbor  at  its  mouth,  are  by  no  means  new 
conceptions  with  me.  But,  1  must  confess,  that  I  did  not  foresee  then  what  I  have 
since  seen — the  Falls  of  Niagara  surmounted  by  a  ship  canal !  and  a  schooner  clearing 
from  Chicago  for  Liverpool! 

The  river  navigation  of  the  Great  West  is  the  most  wonderful  on  the  globe,  and  since 
the  application  of  steam  power  to  the  propulsion  of  vessels,  possesses  the  essential  quali- 
ties of  ocean  navigation.  Speed,  distance,  cheapness,  magnitude  of  cargoes,  are  all  there, 
and  without  the  perils  of  the  sea  from  storms  and  enemies.  The  steam  boat  is  the  ship  of 
the  river,  and  finds  in  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  the  amplest  theatre  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  its  use,  and  the  display  of  its  power.  Wonderful  river!  connecting  with  seas  by 
the  head  and  by  the  mouth — stretching  its  arras  towards  the  Atlantic  and  the  Paci- 
fic— lying  in  a  valley,  which  is  a  valley  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Hudson's  Bay — 
drawing  its  first  waters  not  from  rugged  mountains,  but  from  a  plateau  of  lakes  in  tho 
centre  of  the  continent,  and  in  communication  with  the  sources   of  the  St.   Lawrence 


32 

and  the  streams  which  take  their  course  north  to  Hudson's  Bay — draining  the  largest 
extent  of  richest  laud — collecting  the  products  of  every  clime,  even  the  frigid,  to  hoar 
the  whole  to  a  genial  market  in  the  sunny  south,  and  there  to  meet  the  products  of 
the  entire  world  :  Such  is  the  Mississippi !  And  who  can  calculate  the  aggregate  of  its 
advantages,    and  the  magnitude  of  its  future  commercial  results  ? 

Many  years  ago  the  late  Governor  Ci.auk  and  myself  undertook  to  calculate  the  ex- 
tent of  the  boatable  water  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi :  we  made  it  about  50,000 
miles  !  of  which  30,000  were  couii)uted  to  unite  above  St.  Louis,  and  20,000  below.  Of 
course,  we  counted  all  the  infant  streams  on  which  a  flat,  a  keel,  or  a  battcau  could  be 
floated,  and  justly:  for  every  tributary,  of  the  humblest  boatable  character,  helps  to 
swell  not  only  the  volume  of  the  central  waters,  but  of  the  commerce  upon  them.  Of 
this  immense  extent  of  river  navigation,  all  combined  into  one  system  of  waters,  St. 
Louis  is  the  centre  !  and  the  entrepot  of  its  trade  '  presenting  even  now,  in  its  infancy, 
an  astonishing  and  almost  incredible  amount  of  commerce,  destined  to  increase  forever. 
It  is  considered  an  inland  town.  Counting  by  time  and  money,  the  only  tme  com- 
mercial measure  of  distances,  and  St.  Louis  is  nearer  to  the  sea  than  New  Orleans 
was  before  the  steam  tow  boat  abridged  the  distance  between  that  city  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi.  St.  Louis  is  a  sea  port,  as  well  as  an  inland  city,  and  is  a  port 
of  delivery  by  law,  and  has  collected  $50,000  of  duties  on  foreign  imports  during  the 
current  year;  and  with  a  liberal  custom  law  would  hecoxae  a.  gre^t  entrepot  of  foreign 
as  well  as  of  domestic  commerce.  With  the  attributes  and  characteristics  of  a  sea- 
port, she  is  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  one,  as  full}-  and  as  clearly  as  New  York  or  New 
Orleans. 

About  twenty  years  ago,  I  moved  in  the  Senate,  and  obtained  an  appropriation  for 
a  survey  of  the  Rapids  of  the  Upper  Mississippi :  it  was  probably  the  first  appropriation 
ever  obtained  for  the  improvement  of  the  upper  part  of  the  river.  About  twenty-five  j'ears 
ago,  I  moved,  and  succeeded  in  the  motion,  to  include  the  Missouri  liver  in  a  bi'l  for  the 
improvement  of  the  western  rivers :  it  was  the  first  time  that  river  had  been  so  included 
Thus,  on  the  important  items  of  the  Chicago  canal,  the  Rapids  of  the  Upper  Missis- 
sippi, and  the  Missouri  river,  I  was  among  the  first  to  propose  to  include  them  within 
the  circle  of  internal  improvement  by  the  Federal  Government.  I  have  always  been  a 
friend  to  that  system,  but  not  to  its  abuses  !  and  here  lies  the  difficulty,  and  the  dan- 
ger, and  the  stumbling  block  to  its  success.  Objects  of  general  and  national  import- 
ance can  alone  claim  the  aid  of  the  Federal  Government;  and  in  favor  of  such  objects 
I  believe  all  the  departments  of  the  government  to  be  united.  Confined  to  them,  and 
the  constitution  can  reach  them,  and  the  treasury  sustain  them.  Extended  to  local 
or  sectional  objects,  and  neither  the  constitution,  nor  the  treasury  could  uphold  them. 
National  objects  of  improvement  are  few  in  number,  definite  in  character,  and  man- 
ageable by  the  treasury:  local  and  sectional  objects  are  innumerable,  and  indefinite, 
and  ruinous  to  the  treasury.  Near  twenty  years  ago  the  treasury  was  threatened  with  a 
demand  for  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  for  objects  of  internal  improvement,  then  ap- 
plied for,  and  many  of  them  of  no  national  importance.  The  enormity  of  the  sum  balked 
the  system  ;  and  so  it  must  be  again,  if  the  proper  discrimination  is  not  kept  up  between 
local  and  national  subjects.  It  is  for  Congress  to  make  that  discrimination:  the  President 
cannot :  he  must  reject,  or  approve  the  bill  as  a  whole.  Here,  then,  is  the  point  at 
which  the  friends  of  the  system,  in  Congress,  must  exert  all  their  cai-e  and  vigilance. 
No  arbitrary  rule  can  be  give  i  for  the  admission  or  exclusion  of  proper  objects  ;  but  really 
national  objects  admit  of  no  dispute  ;  and,  confined  to  them,  I  apprehend  but  little  danger 
of  losing  a  bill,  either  from  Executive  vetoes,  or  for  want  of  votes  in  Congi-ess. 

Very  respectfully.  Gentlemen,  your  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

THOMAS  H.  BENTON. 


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